Sleeping Beauty
by silverkitsune89
Summary: A terrible curse is laid upon the kingdom of Loveless when an evil sorceror marks his younger brother for death. SoubiRitsuka


A/N: I'm taking a short break from my HP Diary series. I'm trying to catch James up to Severus, which isn't working to well, so I decided to write this. Tis a loveless fic with your general pairing. I just though it would be pretty cute. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This will only be said once. I don't own Loveless or any of its characters. That is solely owned by Kouga Yun.

Sleeping Beauty

Part 1: The Darkness shall cast its shadow over the light.

Silverkitsune89

"Our prince! Our prince!" voices rang through the halls. "Our prince is born!"

In the royal chambers, Queen Nagisa lay with her newborn son cradled in her arms. She smiled happily as King Ritsu burst through the over-sized double doors, panting.

"Our… our s-son," Ritsu managed to say, gasping for breath. "Our son. I-is he healthy? Is he okay?

Nagisa chuckled softly, motioning for her husband to come closer. "Why don't you come and see for yourself?"

Ritsu straightened himself out and walked towards the bed, placing a hand on Nagisa's shoulder. In her arms their son lay peacefully sleeping. Soft chocolate hair framed a delicate, almost angelic face. The softest smile graced his lips. Ritsu grinned, stroking one satin cheek gently. Drowsy eyes slowly opened and brightened at the sight before him. The baby gurgled happily, trying to grab his father's finger. _'Beautiful,' _Ritsu thought, mesmerized.

"Have you given him a name yet?" Ritsu muttered.

"No." Nagisa shook her head as she offered the baby to Ritsu. "I thought I'd give you that pleasure." Nagisa watched him as their son cuddled into his father's arms.

"R-ritsuka." Ritsu choked, holding his child close. "His name will be Ritsuka."

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"All hail their majesties King Ritsu and Queen Nagisa!" a herald called, quieting all in the grand hall. Trumpets blared as Ritsu and Nagisa walked into the hall, holding baby Ritsuka between them. Carefully, Ritsu placed him in a small pram set on the steps. The herald blew a horn as the King and Queen took their seats behind the pram. "Now entering, from the neighboring kingdom of Beloved, King Nisei and his son, Prince Soubi."

A small, you boy, maybe eight years of age, walked in through the grand, ornate doors, his father following close behind. Gracefully, the two walked down the center aisle towards where the Loveless family stood, stopping in front of the pram. Smugly, Nisei looked down at the baby, then at his parents. Soubi, however, looked down at the baby before him, eyes shining with curiosity. His long, blonde hair fell on the baby's face, tickling him. Ritsuka laughed, batting the hair out of the way while reaching out for Soubi. Soubi grinned and held his hand out to Ritsuka. He grabbed it as the both of them laughed.

"It would seem our sons are getting along quite well." Nagisa said warmly.

"So it would seem." Nisei said, that smug air still surrounding him. Nisei bowed to the Loveless sovereigns, gave Ritsuka one last sarcastic smirk, than grabbed Soubi and dragged him towards the back. Soubi turned around and gave baby Ritsuka a final smile before he followed his father.

"I really don't like him." Ritsu whispered to Nagisa, feeling slightly unsettled. Nagisa laid a hand on his leg subtly.

"I know sweetie, but please try to bear it."

Ritsu looked over the people in the hall, eyes stalling on Nisei. "I've got a bad feeling about this…."

Horns blared once again as the herald announced the faeries. One by one, they walked, flew, or glided to baby Ritsuka, blessing him with such characteristics as valor, courage, grace, wisdom, cunning, musical ability, and beauty (go figure). During this time, Ritsu stood constantly on edge, those feelings of anxiety and fear refusing to go away. He kept looking back at Nisei, then the doors, then back at Nisei again. Even over an hour later, he still had that haughty look, as if he knew something Ritsu did not.

Finally, the last faerie, a girl named Yuiko, started her walk towards the baby pram. As she got closer, the lights dimmed down with each step she took. Ghostly shadows crept on the walls, moving closer and closer to Ritsuka. A soft, quiet laugh sounded through the halls. The entrance doors swung open once again, this time revealing a tall, masculine figure. Slowly, with mastered grace, he walked down the aisle towards the pram and baby Ritsuka. As he passed each row, people started whimpering and crying, a sudden coldness overtaking them.

As he approached the pram, he looked at the baby lying within. He laid a single finger on Ritsuka's forehead, a dull light emanating where their skin met.

"Seimei, what are you doing here?" Ritsu growled, not liking what he saw. His eyes shot towards Nisei for a moment, looking for a change in expression and finding it. Nisei was grinning widely, a look of rapture on his face. Soubi, on the other hand, looked back and forth between his father and Seimei, not knowing whether to cry or tear this strange man away from the baby who had stolen his heart.

Seimei looked up at Ritsu and Nagisa, a wicked gleam in his eye. "Well, dear father, I just wanted to pay my new brother a visit. Even a sorcerer has a thing or two to give."

Nagisa looked up at her son, suddenly fearful. "What are you going to do?'

"Nothing to major, though I expect you'll think otherwise." Seimei carefully withdrew Ritsuka from his cradle, never looking up. "It's just a spell. Quite simple really."

Ritsu clenched his fists by his side, not wanting to harm the baby. "Seimei, what did you do?" he growled, unable to keep the anger from his voice.

"On his 13th birthday," Seimei began, petting the small bit of hair atop Ritsuka's head and playing with a small ear, "he will die by the kiss of a butterfly. Like I said, quite a simple spell. No silly incantations. Just a quick exchange of energy and the proper thought pattern."

At this, Ritsu's eyes widened in horror while Nagisa crumbled to the ground, the tears already streaming from her eyes. Everyone in the great hall took a collective gasp, not wanting to believe what had just happened.

Ritsu came to his senses and stole Ritsuka from Seimei's arms. "Why? He's your brother!" Ritsu glared darkly at his son as Nagisa cried silently.

"He'll thank me later…" Seimei said smoothly, holding Ritsu's gaze.

"He's your brother!" Nagisa cried, lashing out. "Leave here now!" Seimei just stared at her for a moment, surprised at the sudden outburst. "LEAVE!" Seimei blinked as he bowed graciously to the sovereigns. Before anyone could so much as blink, he was gone, leaving behind a room of heartbroken people. Ritsuka looked up at his father, curious as to why the adults around him were so sad all of a sudden. Unable to hold back anymore, Ritsu collapsed, holding his child so very close. He sat like that, in front of everyone, incapable of stopping the river of tears.

Footsteps slowly walked up to where father and son sat. Ritsu looked up to see who would dare approach him now of all times. It was the last faerie, Yuiko. Her face was red from crying, but she fought to keep her voice steady. "I still haven't given Ritsuka my gift." She knelt down in front of the royal family, placing a cool hand on Ritsuka's forehead. "I can't get rid of the curse, but I can change it around. He won't die. Instead, he'll fall into a deep sleep, as will the rest of the kingdom, until he receives a kiss from his true love."

Ritsu looked at her, his eyes no longer sparkling as they were before. "Is that all that can be done?"

"That's all I can do. I'm sorry..."

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Night finally fell upon the grief stricken kingdom. Thought of the eventual fate of not only the new prince, but everyone else in the kingdom, seemed to weigh heavily on everyone's mind.

Within the Royal Family, neither Ritsu nor Nagisa could bring themselves to speak, both still heartbroken.

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All was deathly quiet as Ritsu stole away to the edge of the forest, sleeping child in his arms. He briskly walked along the cobblestone road, careful not to be seen, shifting in his dark cloak whenever he heard somebody coming.

When he reached his destination, it began raining lightly, thunder rolling off in the distance. Three cloaked figures stood at the edge of the forest waiting. Ritsu walked up to them slowly, still unsure of what he was about to do. As one, the three pulled off their hoods, revealing who lay beneath them. The one on the right was a relatively short male faerie with long, dark hair tipped in white. The one on the left, also a male faerie, was much taller than the other two, with short, lime green hair and multiple piercings in each ear. The one in the center was Yuiko, her pinkish hair damp from the light rain. Yuiko walked up to Ritsu, carefully taking the sleeping Ritsuka from his arms.

"Sire, are you sure this is what you want me to do?" she whispered softly, looking up at the mournful king. He nodded at her, shaking slightly.

"This is all I could think of. The only way I could keep him safe."

Yuiko smiled, wrapping the child up so he could stay warm. "Then we will watch over him."

As one, the three faeries bowed to their king, turned around, and retreated into the forest.


End file.
